Proteas vs England ODI Centurion 22 November 2009

So it is Cricket at last since the rain has set in over Gauteng over the past week. It is the first time that the weather is looking good and that we are sure there is going to be some good cricket played. England has won the toss and elected to bowl due to some moisture around. I think that this is the prudent decision that might prove to be the correct one for them. I think Smith would have done the same if he won the toss. The only good thing positive for the Proteas is that it is not overcast , but you can be assured that there is going to be some lateral movement.
Then there is the omission of Jacques Kallis which has been removed from the line-up due to a suspected cracked rib. This will also put him in doubt for the rest of the one day internationals and even for the first test against England.
Anderson will be opening the bowling and the Proteas will have to be at their best if they stand a chance of getting off to a good start.

Smith and Bosman dominate T20 at Centurion

I am happy to report that the batsmen have done the job in the 20/20 match last Sunday. Gleam Smith and Loots Bosman were superb in the way they went about in there dismantling of the English bowling attack. It has been calculated low risk cricket that have placed the pressure squarely on the English bowlers. The opening partnership was the biggest in the 20/20 form mostly because both batsmen like to dominate the bowling and that they were on a role.
Bosman nearly became the second batsmen in international T20 match to reach the elusive three figure total. He ended up with 96 runs unfortunately hauling out to a shortish delivered ball. He tried to hit the ball for a boundary not backing down putting the team upfront. Smith also played absolutely excellent and it is evident that his elbow is much better than last season in the way he is stroking the ball with immense power. It has also been evident in his shot selection that he is not only limited to certain regions he is playing his shots. This will make things much more difficult for the English especially in the upcoming test series.

Proteas vs England 20/20 Centurion

So there is again some weather around in the Johannesburg, Pretoria area. The Duckworth / Lewis method of determining the eventual winner might be again come into play. South Africa has probably been the team most affected in this manner, but it is probably because they only have one game plan, and that is to chase a target rather than to set one. It has cost them two advances in world cup matches one against England in Australia and one against West Indies in South Africa. I sure don’t hope that DL will be used today to determine the winner of today’s match. The previous game has shown signs of being a cliff-hanger up to the point that the rain has intervened. If this first encounter has anything to go by the tour will be something else and the intricate matchups something to behold and to enjoy.

The ICC cricket final - What a prospect.

Congratulations to New Zealand cricket for beating Pakistan convincingly in the ICC champions trophy match at the Wanderers. New Zealand played exceptionally well and beat Pakistan against my expectations to setup a final at Centurion against Australia. This is going to be a magnificent day for both teams trying to win the ICC competition for a second time. I think New Zealand has an even chance of winning this competition but Australia will start as favourites in the match. As explained in a earlier post I think that Centurion has one of the most consistent pitches during both the innings. Australia does not have a huge advantage over New Zealand as New Zealand always seem to have some impact in New Zealand, Australia matches and Australia only had two players batting on the pitch that is going to be uses for the final where it was only Watson and Ponting getting the bulk of the runs in their semi final match against England. So if there players can be dismissed cheaply it will be game on. The strengths for New Zealand other then the opening bowlers will be the spin of Vitori in the middle over’s that always seem to get some purchase from the wicket and also a wicket or two during this spell. I think he is a better bowler than Haurits in the middle over’s that will narrow the margin of victory for Australia or swing the game New Zealand’s way. So this game is not a one horse race and I am looking forward to see what the final result will be. Good luck to both teams you deserved to be in the final.

Graeme Swann has been introduced to the bowling attack

Graeme Swann has been introduced to the bowling attack in the 21st over going for a four in his first over. The performance of Swann will be pivotal in the outcome of the match. To my thinking the partnership between Smith and de Villiers will be the make or break to their chances in the ICC champion’s trophy competition.

Graeme Swann has been introduced to the bowling attack

Graeme Swann has been introduced to the bowling attack in the 21st over going for a four in his first over. The performance of Swann will be pivotal in the outcome of the match. To my thinking the partnership between Smith and de Villiers will be the make or break to their chances in the ICC champion’s trophy competition.

Graeme Swann has been introduced to the bowling attack

Graeme Swann has been introduced to the bowling attack in the 21st over going for a four in his first over. The performance of Swann will be pivotal in the outcome of the match. To my thinking the partnership between Smith and de Villiers will be the make or break to their chances in the ICC champions trophy competition.

South Africa VS England in ICC 2009 Second innings

South Africa has made a good enough start to the run chase on Centurion in their match against England in the ICC champions trophy match to be in front 89 for the loss of two after 17 over’s of the scoring rate compared to rate of England at the same stage. The two batsmen out for South Africa are Herschel Gibbs and Jacques Kallis, both of whom were caught in a soft manner. At the crease at the moment are AB De Villiers and Graeme Smith

Eoin Morgan has played a gem of a innings.

Eoin Morgan has played a gem of a innings at the tailend of the South Africa, England game in the ICC trophy competition. The final score was England 323 for the lost of 8 wickets. Now we will have to wait and see if this is a bridge to far for the South African team to come back and score the runs to proceed to the next round of the competition or is this is wickets for them

England VS Sri Lanka Update

England has set South Africa firmly on the back foot in the ICC champions match with Shah eventually out for 98 well played runs. The only thing that is sure is that this is going to be one hell of a game if South Africa gets close to the target set. There was a incident that I saw where the backup runner has backed up about 5 meters. This brings to mind that mancad should be ruled legal dismissing a player as the benefit of backup is not fair to my mind.

Collingwood and Shah are playing the spinners quite comfortable

Collingwood and Shah are playing the spinners quite comfortable with no real spin as the other day against New Zealand. The lack of spin will bode well to the South African team trying to negate the spinning ball in their run chase. England has reached 100 for the loss of two wickets in the 22 over. I am certain that there is a big chance of a run out ending the partnership as the calling by both Collingwood and Shah is not the best

Parnell has bowled a maiden over

So Wayne Parnell has bowled a maiden over from the opposite side of the field that he started of. This will put some pressure on the England batting with the spinners coming on and probably bowling in unison

England undoing good start

England has undone some good work in the first few over’s by losing two quick wickets in succession. Boucher took a magnificent catch to dismiss Straus. Straus tried to play the ball fine to third man, but could only manage to find a thick edge. The new man at the crease is Shah and Collingwood. There was no sign of spin yet. By my thinking the spinners will come on as soon as the fifteenth over

South Africa VS England in ICC 2009 Update

So Joe Denly forced his hand once to often trying to clear the fence. Denly took on Jacques Kallis with a forcing shot down to square leg. The catch was held neatly in the deep by JP Duminy. Meanwhile Kallis left the field with a suspected side strain and we will have to wait and see if he will play any further part in the match bowling.

South Africa VS England in ICC 2009

It is wonderful weather in Pretoria today with a mouth watering game in prospect at Centurion. South Africa will be taking on England in a deciding match in the ICC trophy match. My suspicions will be that the captain winning the toss will use be batting first to take some advantage of the conditions and to set a total rather than chasing. We will have to see how this pans out and the result of this decision on the outcome of the match

ICC Champions Trophy South Africa VS Sri Lanka

It was quite clear that South Africa has been caught cold in there first match in the ICC champions trophy with both bowling and fielding has been shown up as mentioned in a earlier post. It is clear that it is not as easy after a long layoff as what the Proteas had to start firing from the outset.
In the South African opening bowlers was treated with distain and send to the boundaries on a regular basis. It has to be set that the pitch did not provide any assistance to the bowlers but that the lines and lengths of attack were not executed well.
Dilshan Telekeratne has blasted a quick fire 106 and was involved with a great partnership with Sangakara of 158 runs. If it was not for the tumbling of 5 wickets in the last 4 over’s the chasing score will have been much more than the 320 that was set as target by Sri Lanka. The death bowling have been much more improved but it was after the horse has bolted.
It will be interesting to see how good the South African batting will be under lights.
South Africa will have to produce a Centurion on Centurion to have a good chance to come near the score of Sri Lanka